MULTICULTURAL & MULTITALENTED

We are a band of artists, strategists, and misfits hell-bent on making noise for our clients and their brands. We are a modern, 21st century full-service branding agency where creative is king.

WE ARE THE AUDIENCE

We are, as a group, an accurate, contemporary reflection of the evolving U.S. landscape. That’s why we don’t trust stereotypes or clichés, and we never make assumptions when we market to Hispanics. We’re not afraid to tilt our heads and change our perspectives to challenge what can be done to better connect with our audience.

RICHARDS/LERMA ORIGINS

American

Argentinian

Colombian

Dominican

Ecuadorian

Mexican

Peruvian

Puerto Rican

Salvadoran

Spaniard

Venezuelan

WE’RE PROUD OF OUR DIGITAL ROOTS

Digital media allows Hispanics to connect with family, be social and shape the world around them. Our expertise in digital means that our clients can be more digital and more relevant to Hispanics at the same time.

Richards/Lerma was founded by a leader in the digital space. This is fitting, given Hispanics’ rapid adoption rates of advanced technology.

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PETE LERMA

Principal & Founder

ALDO QUEVEDO

Principal, Creative Director

QUIM GIL

Principal, Brand Planning Director

SALMA GOTTFRIED

Principal, Brand Management Director

DAVID RAVELO

Principal, Richards/Lerma Mexico

WHAT WE DO

We are hardcore anthropologists and technophiles. We live on the forefront of culture and technology not because we have to, but because it’s in our DNA.

It is this insatiable appetite for what’s next that shapes everything we do from traditional to digital.

WE EXECUTE

Richards/Lerma has had the unique opportunity to hand-select industry leaders in Hispanic marketing to build our team.

OUR DISCIPLINES

Advertising

Analytics and Data Management

Brand Architecture

Brand Identity

Cause Branding

Content Production

Crisis and Issues Management

Digital Design and Production

Direct Marketing

Experiential Marketing

Graphic Design

Hispanic Marketing

Media Planning and Buying

Mobile Marketing

Naming

Public Affairs

Public Relations

Relationship Marketing

Search Marketing

Social Media

Sports and Entertainment Marketing

Strategic Planning

Urban Marketing

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OUR SECRET SAUCE

Loud and Clear. We don’t know any other way. We go big with strategic ideas and razor-sharp focus. We believe in creating an emotional bond to brands and causes through work that is memorable, entertaining and disruptive.

SPHERICAL® BRANDING

Spherical® branding is our proprietary tool for creating a brand platform, known as our Spherical® brand promise. It is a step-by-step approach that leads us to stronger, longer-lasting and more profitable brands.

A sphere looks the same from all directions – and we believe that brands should be the same.

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OUR PARTNERS

We are not a vendor. Our clients consider us their partners. We work closely together every day in the trenches to solve problems, grow their brands and do work we’re all proud of.

LET'S GET STARTED

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PETE LERMA

Principal & Founder

Prior to launching Richards/Lerma, Pete led Click Here, a very successful digital agency that has done innovative work for brands like Amstel Light, Chick-fil-A, Casio, Patrón and Travelocity. Pete is the quintessential digital native. However, being a second-generation Mexican-American, Pete has also kept a pulse on his native culture, and he’s intent on raising the bar in Hispanic marketing as well.

Having spent the last 14 years in one of the best agencies in America, Pete is now taking the approaches he’s learned and applying them to Richards/Lerma. His vision is to create a more relevant connection between brands and their Hispanic consumers. In that capacity, Pete leads a team of seasoned Hispanic marketing experts that makes up Richards/Lerma. In a relatively short period of time, the team has done remarkable work for clients such as Advance Auto Parts, MetroPCS, The Home Depot and Ram Trucks.

ALDO QUEVEDO

Principal, Creative Director

Don’t be fooled. While Aldo may appear to be a pretty laid-back guy, behind the smile and glasses is a creative drive and intensity that he unleashes on every account he leads. He holds titles (ADCOLOR Legend Award, three-time Creative Director of the Year, chairman of the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies) and awards (the first Mexican to win a Cannes Lion, the Grand Award at the New York Festivals and an induction into the AAF’s Hall of Achievement®) that most creatives dream of.

Despite these accolades, he keeps pushing the thinking forward, as he still feels that his best ideas are the ones he’s working on right now – or has yet to create. Most of this can be attributed to his upbringing in Cuernavaca, Mexico, the “City of Eternal Spring” – eternal being the key word. He brings to Richards/Lerma his passion for unearthing unique insights, as well as an endless quest for great ideas. And his shiny awards, because he gets to keep those.

QUIM GIL

Principal, Brand Planning Director

There are your garden-variety planners. And then there’s Quim. The true essence of the Renaissance man. A spirit forged through the experience acquired in the most respected agencies, the most crowded music stages, and the tiniest kitchens. Born in Spain, he started his advertising and consulting career at a young age, and worked for McCann-Erickson, Added Value, Ogilvy & Mather, and Synovate, to name a few. Fluent in four languages, he’s the archetype of multiculturalism, which he has widely demonstrated through his work for Bud Light, Danone, Huggies, Unilever, and many others on both sides of the ocean.

His love for food competes only with his love for music. So you know, he’ll cook for you for a couple of tickets to ACL, SXSW, Coachella…

SALMA GOTTFRIED

Principal, Brand Management Director

Born and raised in Mexico City, Salma deftly blends the organized approach of a brand manager with the fluidity and expression of an artist. Not surprising, considering that in another life she was a modern dancer and still retains her creative identity through abstract photography. Her adventurous spirit has guided her through many twists and turns on both the agency and client sides. She relishes the freedom and experimentation allowed in agency life and brings her unique blend of solution-oriented processes to Richards/Lerma.

Salma’s extensive cross-category multicultural agency experience includes leading and growing the business for major brands such as Procter & Gamble, Levi’s, Southwest Airlines, JCPenney, Frito Lay, and Gatorade. She joined Hispanic agency Dieste at its inception and played a key role in growing the agency over her 14-year tenure. The secret to her success is her relentless commitment to building and strengthening alliances among agency, partners, and the client – even across different cultures.

DAVID RAVELO

Principal, Richards/Lerma Mexico

David is a truly renaissance man with diverse interests and passions. He is a constant traveler and an explorer of cities and their peoples. He has published poetry, short stories and essays here and there. His love of music is boundless, playing and listening to things as random as 17th century cantatas, contemporary German pop and reggaeton, with no shame and equal zest. He was a tennis instructor in college and still plays tennis at every chance. He’s considered an authority on classical and post-modern ballet history. And random, useless facts just stick to him like glitter, making him an uncanny partner in Trivia Pursuit.

He began his career in advertising after earning his degree in communications. But he took that path only after bouncing around a bit from studying music and architecture, to playing guitar with a Honky Tonk band in West Texas, to honing his cooking skills in a couple of kitchens across the Southwest.

The advertising world has been his life for over two decades and he was part of two of the largest holding companies in the industry where he collaborated with extraordinarily talented colleagues, some with whom he has been friends for a lifetime. At Richards / Lerma, he leads our Mexico City agency, where he spends his time building our service offering and evangelizing on the ways of RL.

Although always the quintessential account guy, bow tie and grey flannel suit included, a natural diplomat, and the epitome of grace-under- pressure, he has spearheaded strategy, research and new business initiatives and even written a few ads.

Although not born in Texas, he’s been wearing cowboy boots religiously since the 6th grade, which makes him, at minimum, an honorary Texan. When, rather rarely, he’s not in meetings or on a plane, he’s been seen wandering around Dallas with a guitar in one hand and his young daughter in the other. Lately though, there have been confirmed sightings of him following a mysterious woman he is rumored to have married not too long ago.